Although this mission was even more dangerous than the last one, if he won the gamble and Senju Tobirama became the Hokage, then when one person attains the Dao, his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. He, Shimura Danzō, could follow Senju Tobirama and become one of the most powerful people in Konoha.
As for if he lost the gamble...
Since Senju Tobirama had already sought him out, he actually had no choice now.
So for himself, for his family, and for Konoha, Shimura Danzō intended to give it his all.
In the end... he chose to accept the mission and left with the mission scroll.
After dealing with Shimura Danzō, Senju Tobirama didn't plan to be idle; he still had his own things to do. Smearing the Uchiha Clan was only part of his plan, and not even the most important link.
After all, no matter how much he smeared the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Makoto of Akatsuki Village next door was like an anomaly.
—Could it be that going mentally insane can also awaken one as a philosopher king?
So amidst his sighs, Senju Tobirama could only continue to execute his plan..... He had to find every possible way to canvass votes for himself within Konoha!
Theoretically speaking, Senju Tobirama still had the possibility of winning.
Because Konoha's next Hokage was elected democratically, Konoha's public opinion could truly influence the choice of Hokage.
Soon....
Under Senju Tobirama's continuous operations, news of his good deeds spread rapidly in Konoha.
Having been the Shadow Hokage for so many years, he naturally had presentable political achievements.
As long as Akatsuki Village was left out of the discussion, Konoha under Senju Tobirama's governance was truly the strongest and most prosperous ninja village in the ninja world.
At the same time.
Under Senju Tobirama's orders, Konoha Anbu ninjas also set up several open-air podiums in various busy markets and streets of Konoha.
The method of giving speeches was very good.
It could let Konoha villagers and ninjas know the governing platform and ideas of the next Kage, seamlessly communicate with both parties, and incidentally perform an image of being close to the people.
Considering time was pressing.
To quickly attract popularity, Senju Tobirama even arranged for people to distribute eggs by the roadside.
Ordinary people might not be interested in speeches, but if Senju Tobirama was distributing eggs, that was a different story.
....
"Let us carry out the vigorous Konoha reform to the end!!"
In the crowded and noisy crowd, Senju Tobirama shouted hoarsely.
This was already his third speech this week.
And responding to Senju Tobirama from below the stage were cheers like a mountain tsunami. Even though Konoha Anbu ninjas were constantly maintaining order and asking them to calm down, the people's enthusiasm lingered for a long time.
To make Konoha villagers and ninjas so enthusiastic, it obviously wasn't just the effect of Senju Tobirama distributing eggs.
As a tested politician, Senju Tobirama had extremely rich experience in winning people's hearts. In the past, he navigated and maneuvered among the major ninja clans of Konoha with ease. Even the Uchiha, who had always been at odds with him, were firmly suppressed by him.... If Uchiha Makoto hadn't suddenly intervened, Senju Tobirama wouldn't have encountered such a tricky situation now.
And these ordinary Konoha villagers and ninjas in front of him were even easier to deal with.
Honestly.
Senju Tobirama's methods couldn't really be called brilliant.
What he did was simply giving people whatever they needed.
Ordinary Konoha villagers needed a stable living environment, a stable job, and a salary sufficient to support their families.
Konoha ninjas hoped to get security, get enough money to cover living expenses, and hoped the village could release more ninjutsu to improve their strength....
These things, Senju Tobirama originally intended to realize in the Konoha reform.
And to let the villagers and ninjas see his efforts more intuitively, Senju Tobirama even made public a part of Konoha's future development plan.
The reform plan clearly recorded that Konoha was about to open multiple large factories. These factories would not only provide a large number of jobs, but the profits after earnings would also be used to improve the welfare and treatment of Konoha ninjas..... Senju Tobirama made bold claims on stage that as long as Konoha ninjas worked hard for a few years, Konoha catching up to Akatsuki Village would only be a matter of time.
And since he dealt with Konoha documents every day, when Senju Tobirama was painting a rosy picture on stage, every sentence was backed by data.
Supported by specific data, the credibility of these pie-in-the-sky remarks was naturally much higher.
Not to mention these ordinary people and Konoha ninjas, even some high officials of the Ministry of Finance of the Land of Fire might not be able to debate him head-on.
Such a meticulously prepared speech was naturally a great success. It wasn't until more than ten minutes later that Senju Tobirama finally stabilized the boiling villagers and ninjas at the scene.
Subsequently, amidst applause and cheers, with the assistance of Anbu ninjas, Senju Tobirama ended this speech.
Dragging his exhausted body, he returned to the Hokage's office.
At this moment, Senju Tobirama was physically and mentally exhausted.
Because after the speech ended, he couldn't rest at all and had to continue processing the piled-up work without stopping.... Uchiha Kagami was indeed a capable collaborator, but he improved too fast, so fast that Senju Tobirama didn't dare to relax even a bit.
But all this hard work was worth it.
After several consecutive speeches, Senju Tobirama not only saw his support rate soar in Konoha but also dealt a heavy blow to the propaganda offensive prepared by the Uchiha clan elders.
Because compared to Senju Tobirama, the propaganda methods prepared by the Uchiha clan elders were obviously much more backward.
The Uchiha clan elders still used extremely cliché methods, boasting with empty slogans and the name of "Akatsuki Village," blindly attacking Senju Tobirama's failures in previous years.
But no matter how much Senju Tobirama failed, he only lagged behind Akatsuki Village; compared to the other four major ninja villages, he was far ahead.
The Uchiha clan elders also couldn't come up with a feasible plan during the propaganda process..... They were Konoha's conservatives, after all.
And Konoha villagers and ninjas weren't real fools. Their eyes could see who performed more reliably and who was more suitable to lead Konoha's development.
The most critical thing was that Senju Tobirama had been personally on the front lines all along.
He could publicly review his mistakes, shamelessly "copy" the development model of Akatsuki Village next door, and he could even temporarily promise some things he couldn't accomplish at all.
Painting a pie (making empty promises)... naturally, it had to be painted fragrant and big.
As long as it was beneficial for him to gain internal support from Konoha village, Senju Tobirama could do it.
While the Uchiha Clan spent a lot of effort, they were always singing an empty show.
Uchiha Madara had been offline all along. The family wanted to support him to become Hokage, but he didn't even show his face, staying in the Uchiha Naka Shrine all day without appearing.
Compared to Senju Tobirama's low profile and various promises and pie-painting, Uchiha Madara's performance appeared too arrogant in the eyes of Konoha villagers and ninjas.
And Konoha villagers and ninjas would also vote with their feet.
Seeing Senju Tobirama gradually neutralizing the propaganda offensive prepared by the Uchiha Clan, and even the calls for Senju Tobirama within the village growing louder, the Uchiha Grand Elder had to choose to hold an emergency meeting.
Unlike in the past.
In the meeting room, the Uchiha Grand Elder sat in the main seat. Seated sequentially on both sides were both the older generation conservative clan elders of the family and the younger generation of Uchiha supporting Konoha's reform. Members of both factions were all present.
From beginning to end, no one spoke first.
The conservative clan elders couldn't stand this group of young people making a mess of the Uchiha Clan, and even gradually starting to disrespect them as seniors.
While the young Uchiha felt that this group of clan elders had long been unable to keep up with the times, and their eyes revealed dissatisfaction at this moment.
Because regarding this public opinion propaganda...
Perhaps sensing the threat from the reformist faction within the Uchiha, the Uchiha Grand Elder and the clan elders didn't discuss with the young reformists at all and directly started executing the plan.
And the result was obvious.
Senju Tobirama almost firmly suppressed the Uchiha public opinion propaganda and severely increased his own voice in Konoha, even reducing the voices opposing the Konoha reform plan by a lot.
So the young reformists were all very angry. They believed that if this group of Uchiha clan elders continued to stick to conventions like this, the Uchiha Clan would definitely be completely suppressed by Senju Tobirama in the future.
Now the relationship between the two sides was really bad.
...Sooner or later, the two sides would fight fiercely because of this.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was somewhat oppressive for a time.
The Uchiha Grand Elder's dry face twisted into a ball. He silently took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, looking somewhat dazed, seemingly recalling the past.
Although he was a conservative, he absolutely didn't want the Uchiha Clan to split internally because of this.
It was just that the Uchiha Grand Elder already felt his ability falling short of his wishes, gradually losing control of the situation.
Especially at this critical juncture.
So the Uchiha Grand Elder could only hold on, trying his best to maintain the unity of the family. Now the Uchiha Clan couldn't fall into chaos internally first; otherwise, it would only benefit Senju Tobirama for nothing.
"Everyone, I believe you have all seen Senju Tobirama's recent series of actions."
"Konoha villagers and ninjas have all been bewitched by him."
"And our Konoha Hokage is elected democratically. If the situation continues to spread like this, it will be very unfavorable for us. Even Lord Madara will inevitably..."
"So I summoned you today to think of a countermeasure."
The Uchiha Grand Elder lit the cigarette in his hand, and after puffing out clouds of smoke, he spoke slowly.
The current situation was not very favorable for the Uchiha Clan.
If the Hokage were recommended solely based on ninja strength, Uchiha Madara would undoubtedly be the next Hokage.
But choosing the Hokage in Konoha was originally a method of democratic election. Coupled with Senju Tobirama being extremely difficult to deal with, if they really followed this rule, Uchiha Madara might not necessarily have the victory in hand.
Moreover... Lord Madara never showed his face, making Konoha villagers and ninjas very unfamiliar with him.
"Grand Elder, we should also ask Lord Madara to come out of retirement."
"If Lord Madara personally steps forward, even Senju Tobirama definitely won't be his opponent."
"Yeah, why hasn't Lord Madara come out yet? We are working hard to build momentum for him. If he never shows up, it won't have the effect we want at all."
A young Uchiha clansman quickly thought of Uchiha Madara and was the first to ask for Uchiha Madara to come out.
Actually, it wasn't just him.
Almost all Uchiha clansmen present thought of Uchiha Madara.
In the eyes of Uchiha clansmen, Uchiha Madara, who possessed absolute power, would win steadily as long as he showed up. Senju Tobirama would only be left trembling in fear in front of him.
Now that someone started, many young Uchiha clansmen immediately echoed in support.
The Uchiha Grand Elder couldn't help but frown. He certainly knew this method was correct, but the key problem was that Uchiha Madara had stayed behind closed doors except for the few days when Uchiha Makoto came to Konoha and he walked out of the Naka Shrine.
Even though he took the clan elders to persuade him repeatedly, wanting Uchiha Madara to come out, in the end, they were driven out without even saying a few words.
This kind of thing happening once or twice was fine.
The Uchiha Grand Elder could regard Uchiha Madara's behavior as "avoiding suspicion," wanting to look decent.
But if Uchiha Madara continued like this, the Uchiha Grand Elder had even begun to suspect that Uchiha Madara didn't want to become Hokage at all..... It was only because Uchiha Madara's strength and status were unmatched in the Uchiha; otherwise, the Uchiha Grand Elder would want to personally go into battle and compete with Senju Tobirama for the position of Hokage now.
These thoughts naturally couldn't be revealed to the outside.
So the Uchiha Grand Elder, with a bitter face, puffed out clouds of smoke again.
"Grand Elder, why aren't you speaking? We should hurry up and invite Lord Madara out now."
"Boy, do you think we and the Grand Elder haven't tried?"
"The problem is Lord Madara... We have invited Lord Madara several times, but he always drives us out."
"Is it that difficult for you to explain things clearly? Or is Lord Madara unwilling to become Hokage... or is it your stubbornness and stupidity that even Lord Madara can't stand anymore?"
"Brat, do you think facing Lord Madara is a simple matter? You guys simply don't know what kind of pressure one has to bear facing Lord Madara."
Some impulsive young Uchiha had already started to assign blame.
If Uchiha Madara had been invited out in time, the situation would absolutely not have become like this now.
And this "indiscriminate" blame-shifting naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of the older generation of clan elders. They had already tried several times, but Uchiha Madara just wouldn't cooperate with them.
Moreover, this group of young people simply didn't know Uchiha Madara's terror. Not just anyone could withstand Uchiha Madara's pressure and still go to "anger" Uchiha Madara repeatedly under pressure.
—The future of the Uchiha rested on these clan elders!
"Alright."
"Since that's the case, let's go to the Naka Shrine again and invite Lord Madara out!"
If they continued to argue like this, the Uchiha Grand Elder was worried that this group of people would really start fighting on the spot.
He could only put down the cigarette in his hand and stop them in time.
This time he decided to take more clansmen together to meet Uchiha Madara.